The Briefing

The 4-day work week, flexible working and co-working are all going to be major buzzwords this year. There's also coworking, where we're seeing moves towards creating spaces in suburban centres so that workers don't need to commute as far. In this episode Rhianna Patrick delves into all of this with Jared Lindzon, a freelance journalist who has been published in the BBC, Time Magazine and Fast Comp...

Welcome to our summer series of the Weekend Briefing featuring some of your favourite interviews from 2023! Elise has achieved a lot! She has ghost written 12 books, was second-in-command at Goop and has now released her first book under her own name - On Our Best Behaviour: The Price Women Pay to Be Good. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Elise explains where the seven deadly sins originated from (...

Dozens of people have died, hundreds have been injured– and tens of thousands of homes destroyed after Japan’s massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake earlier this week. But as Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, it’s also best prepared to deal with a major disaster like this. In this episode of the Briefing Rhianna Patrick is joined by disaster expert Arnold Dix to find out...

For the first time, one of Disney’s marquee characters — Mickey himself — has entered the public domain 95 years after his creation. But it will only be the earliest version of the iconic character though, the one from “Steamboat Willie”. Disney has historically pushed very hard for an extension of copyright protections. In fact, the copyright extension act of 1998 was nicknamed the Mickey Mouse P...

Did you know every generation is seeing a decline in divorce stats, except for boomers? It turns out Hugh Jackman’s split from his wife Deborah Lee Furness of 27 years wasn’t just a flash in the pan and is part of a wider trend. In this episode of The Briefing Katrina Blowers finds out the why behind boomer break-ups with Elisabeth Shaw from Relationships Australia. Headlines: Five dead after Japa...

Did you know google searches for 'manifesting' soared by 669% from late March to mid-July last year? In this episode of The Briefing Katrina Blowers is joined by cognitive neuroscientist Rhiannon Jones to find out if ‘manifesting’ actually helps make our dreams come true, if it’s just another word for goal-setting or if it could actually have a negative impact on our lives. Headlines: Thousands ev...

It’s the first day of 2024, and some big trends are on the cards for this year. Democracies will be tested; AI will lead to major changes in our work and health; and we might finally move beyond the smartphone. In this episode of The Briefing we unpack what to expect in 2024 with futurist Ross Dawson.   Headlines supplied by the Listnr newsroom. Follow The Briefing: Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast...

Welcome to our summer series of the Weekend Briefing featuring some of your favourite interviews from 2023! Dilruk Jayasinha is one of Australia’s most in-demand comedians. As we jump back in time to his last stand up show Heart Stopper we find out there’s more behind that name than meets the eye. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Dilruk explains how he made the switch from working as an accountant...

Britney Spears and Prince Harry’s bios took the world by storm in 2023; Taylor Swift became a billionaire; and the Barbie movie got us going to the cinema again. In this episode of The Briefing Tom Tilley and Antoinette Lattouf give us the rundown on the biggest pop culture moments of the year.   Follow The Briefing: Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAU Twitter: @TheBriefin...

There’s one word for Aussie sport in 2023 and that is: Matildas! But that wasn’t the only big news in sport: we also saw a massive year in cricket, beating India on their home soil in an ODI; while the Panthers won the premiership for the NRL, and Collingwood for the AFL. In this episode of The Briefing Sacha Barbour Gatt and Tom Tilley talk through the moments that had us on the edge of our seats...

Nothing has made international news more in the last few months than the conflict in Gaza, but do you remember some of the other big stories that hit our shores in 2023? Tom Tilley and Katrina Blowers dive in on the biggest moments from 2023 like the Titan submersible tragedy from June; the wildfires that gripped the northern hemisphere; and how ChatGPT suddenly came into our lives.    Follow The...

2023 has been a big year for Australia. In this episode of The Briefing Katrina Blowers and Tom Tilley take us through all the big moments from the failed Voice referendum, to the sacking of Qantas and Optus CEOs, and the mushroom poisoning case that had the whole country talking.   Headlines supplied by the Listnr newsroom.   Follow The Briefing: Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast   Facebook: TheBrie...

There has been a rise of well-known Aussies, particularly females, announcing that they have been diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Due to this rise there have been many conversations on social media about why this is happening, with many saying it’s just being over diagnosed or turning into a trend. We’re joined by Bridget Pringle - a freelance writer, mother of two and advertising professional fr...

We took six well known cosmetics to an independent laboratory for testing. The results show that two of the brands contain PFAS, which are dangerous synthetic ‘forever chemicals.’ Find out which brands and how they respond to the results in this special report from Clair Weaver, Investigations Editor at Listnr. Complaints about PFAS in cosmetics should go to the ACCC (Problem with a product or ser...

It’s Boxing Day and that means there’s a good chance you’re heading to the movies. In this episode of The Briefing Sacha Barbour Gatt wraps of some of the biggest flicks of the season with Justin Hill from The Streaming Service. They’ll be talking everything from Wonka and Mean Girls to Aquaman to help you decide what to watch, as well as a preview of some of the big movies set to be released in 2...

It’s Christmas and that means there’s a good chance you’ll spend most of today in a food coma, even if you’re not religious. In Japan, there’s even a tradition to eat KFC despite the Buddhism and Shinto being the main religion. In this episode of The Briefing we chat to Gastro Obscura’s Diana Hubbell about some of the strangest Christmas foods from around the world.    Follow The Briefing: Instagr...

Welcome to our summer series of the Weekend Briefing featuring some of your favourite interviews from 2023! Maria is a queer, South-Asian woman, the daughter of migrant parents and a former Miss Universe Australia - who stands a petite five foot three in a world of 6 foot something beauty pageant contestants. In this chat with Jamila Rizvi, Maria explains what it was like to be told she wasn’t Aus...

In this morning's episode of The Briefing, we looked into how to manage difficult conversations with family members over Christmas. In this afternoon's episode, we turn the mirror inwards. For many people, this time of the year can be filled with stress, conflict or loneliness. So how can you look after yourself and your mental health through this time? On this extra episode of The Briefing, we sp...

With Christmas just days away, plenty of us are feeling a bit of trepidation (or perhaps a lot) at the prospect of spending time with family members we might otherwise not interact too much with. Whether you're facing the 'body police,' coping with milestone micromanagers, or navigating the 'devil's advocate' of the family, in this episode of The Briefing Tom Tilley and psychologist Jocelyn Brewer...

As public anger mounts over Coles and Woolworths’ super-profits during a cost of living crisis, Brisbane local Dylan Fragomeni is pushing for a boycott of the two grocery giants on December 23 and 24. But could this boycott create any meaningful change? On this extra episode of The Briefing, we speak with Dylan Fragomeni, as well as economist and consumer expert, Professor Gary Mortimer, to find o...

Seven out of 10 Aussies are rewatching TV shows from their childhood and it’s all part of a nostalgia trend. A recent study by Swinburne, RMIT University, and Australian Children's Television Cultures found that jumping back into old shows is a form of comfort watching. Katrina Blowers is joined by Joanna McIntyre from the study to find out why we are choosing to binge shows from the past.   Headl...

The Colorado Supreme Court have just disqualified former US President Donald Trump from being listed in the ballot for the next election.  They claim that his involvement in the January 6th, 2021 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Trump’s team have already come back, saying they’re going to the US Supreme Court t...

King Charles and Queen Camilla are coming down under next year, making it their first visit to Australia as monarchs. But will it lead to a resurgence in republican sentiment? Sacha Barbour Gatt sits down former PM Malcolm Turnbull to find out what the impact of the visit will have and how soon he thinks we could become a republic.   Headlines: Albanese urges not to give up hope of two-state solut...

Many of us have been hit with record power bills this year – and a predicted hot summer ahead is not going to help with keeping costs down. But what if there was a way to avoid energy bills altogether?   That’s the promise of a new fully electric and sustainable Australian property in Perth that's won global home of the year at the National Association of Home Builders’ Global Innovation Awards in...

Australia is known for its hot summers and because of climate change we’re in for more frequent and intense heat waves going forward. An Australian study by Macquarie Uni analysed close to a million reported incidents of all kinds of assaults and found that as temperatures increase so too does violence. Katrina Blowers is joined by Heather Stevens who was part of the team who carried out this rese...